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Show . , - . z 77W AW 3iv mmmi 0 M. ifi MWiW''mMMM &Bgffil&ip. . b J5umfaM MeraldU 00R - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1941 jffM t .'...- - t) " ' H " Z - n i " ". . - :c ; - . , . . :- S- "" . ' .f r " v - j 'J - - , IT" . . "' , . .. ' 1 ' . t ' ' ;' -.- '".- -. - ' "'-.. IT fill fit i f - i , f . 1 ; .- ' , . . 1 1 , , . - . - , t ' " " - ' "' 1 '"... j : ." . ' ' : " ? "T - " ' - jl " ' " . . '; j Dam Is Near . . . i ----- Completion The Provo River project, largest larg-est of reclamation projects in Utah, will directly benefit residents resi-dents of Utah and Salt Lake counties representing more than half the population of the state, according to E. O. Larson of Provo, project construction engineer en-gineer for the U. S. . bureau of reclamation. It is interesting to note that the original settlement of the lands under this 'project by the Mormon pioneers in 1847 marked the beginning of Anglo-Saxon irrigation. ir-rigation. Since that time, this sec- -tion has developed into a highly cultivated area and arising ironi " this development came the need for additional water to augment the flow from the nearby mountain moun-tain streams. In general, the plan provides for the storage and delivery of a supplemental water supply for 100,000 acres of farm lands in the Utah and Salt Lake valleys and also provides additional municipal and -domestic water for the cities and communities adjoining the irrigated areas. The Provo River project comprises the Deer Creek,-Utah Creek,-Utah Lake and aqueduct divisions. Water Sources The water supply will be derived de-rived from the Weber, Provo and Duchesne rivers. Weber river water wa-ter in excess of present requirements, require-ments, and power water made available through a readjustment in river operation, constitute the principal sources of supply. These diversions necessitate enlargement enlarge-ment of the Weber-Provo diversion divers-ion canal from a present capacity of 210 second-feet to 1000 second-feet. second-feet. Second in importance is the sur- plus runoff from the Duchesne liver which will be brought to the reservoir through a 6-mue tunnel tun-nel having a capacity of 325 sec-end-feet. . Some surplus on the Provo river, occurring during the period of spring runoff, is available avail-able for storage in the Deer Creek reservoir when Utah lake ' is at high stage. The project will not bring new .agricultural areas into production but will aid only lands which have in the past been cultivated. Consequently Con-sequently there will be no lands available for settlement. The areas to benefit from the Deer Creek and aqueduct divisions are located along the east bench of the Salt Law and Utah valleys. Approximately 40,000 acres of the area are in Utah county and an additional 5000 to 10,000 acres in tialt Lake county. Utah Lake Division Lands under the Utah lake division di-vision occupy the lower portion of Salt Lake valley, consisting principally prin-cipally of large tracts receiving ... Above Ls a panoramic view of Deer Crek dam in Trovo Looking Into the 15,000-foot Alpine-Draper tunnel now ready for lining - A. an inadequate water supply from Utah lake. Development of this division will provide a supplemental supple-mental water supply, amounting to approximately 30 per cent, for 50,000 acres. Several municipalities, through organization of metropolitan water wa-ter districts, have subscribed for stock in the Provo River Vater Users' association, the shares of stock representing acre-feet of storage in the reservoir. A total of 93,010 shares have been officially subscribed as follows: fol-lows: Provo Reservoir Water Users' Us-ers' coiTpar.y, 16,000; Utah Lake Distributing company, 15,200; Highland ' Conservation district, 5010; Salt Lake metropolitan water wa-ter district, 46,000; Provo metropolitan metro-politan water district, 8000; Orem metropolitan water district, 1300; Lehi metropolitan water district, 500; American Fork metropolitan water district, 500; and Pleasant Grove and Lindon metropolitan water district, 500. Tentative subscriptions have been taken for the balance of the Laying: the 20-foot sections of 69-Inch -t - 'Ti' canyon, looking north fro m the state ' I - i t. V. - , 100,000 shares, according to E. A. , Jacob, secretary of the Provo River Water Users' association. t T Dam Nears Completion Deer Creek dam and relocated railroad and highway comprised the first unit of the Provo River project placed under construction. Work on these features was started start-ed early in 1938 by the Rohl-Con-nolly company of Los Angeles, and according to contract provisions, provis-ions, is to be completed in March, 1942 but probably will be. finished fin-ished well ahead of that time. The dam is located on the Provo river, about 16 miles northeast of Provo, in Wasatch county. The reservoir of 150,000 acre-feet impounded im-pounded by this structure will extend ex-tend 6Vi! miles above the dam into Heber valley and approximately one mile above Charleston, the nearest town. The dam, which will rise 155 feet above stream bed when finished, fin-ished, extends 1300 feet between the canyon walls. It exceeds 1000 pipe In the Salt Lake valley aqueduct highway. UTien completed this year, the 1 1 - ! r I 1 I L Engineer E. O. LARSON ..." construction engineer in charge of project. feet in maximum thickness at the base, diminishing as it rises so that when finished it will be but 35 feet in thickness at roadway level, and contain slightly less than 3,000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. Approximately 2,400,000 cubic yards of earth and rock will have been placed in the dam to date. The dam is the third largest earth-fill dam constructed by the bureau of reclamation. Outlet Tunnel A concrete-lined tunnel through the solid rock of the left abut dam will contain nearly 3,000, COO cubic ment, used to divert the river during dur-ing construction operations, will also serve as an outlet for storage water released from the reservoir. Penstock pipes and -high pressure gates have been installed in the outlet tunnel and construction of the trash-rack structure has been completed. The spillway, located at the right abutment of the dam, is near completion. The branch line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad connecting Provo and Heber. City has for many years traversed the entire length of the Deer Creek reservoir area. Construction of the new railroad grade, extending 10 miles around the west side of the reservoir, was one of the first features placed under construction con-struction by the contractor. A railroad detour along the toe of the right abutment was constructed construct-ed to serve temporarily during the stripping of a portion of the dam foundation occupied by the original orig-inal grade and priod to completion comple-tion of the relocated line outside the reservoir area. A temporary highway, con- yf . 1 2Iaaufacturiitg tho heavy, concrete aqueduct pipe at the Pleasant Grove plant. yards of earth and rock fill. It will be Emergency gales in the outlet out-let tunnel . of the Deer Creek dam J structed to detour traffic around the dam site during construction, will be used after completion of the work as a stock trail to avoid the congestion from trailing trail-ing sheep across the dam. The relocated re-located highway will cross the river on the crest of the dam to connect with short sections of highway constructed under the present contract, at both abutments. abut-ments. The Utah state road commission com-mission is constructing the relocated relo-cated highway from a point downstream down-stream from the dam around the east side of the reservoir to the town of Charleston. Duchesne Tunnel A contract was let for three miles of the six-mile Duchesne tunnel in October and work has been progessing since November. Holing in took place several weeks ago. This phase of the project, when complete, will divert surplus sur-plus water from the Duchesne river to the Provo river for storage stor-age in the Deer Creek reservoir. Other waters to be impounded will be diverted from the Weber river during the high water stage through the Weber-Provo divers- - J 153 feet high- Tunnel Now Being Lined ion canal which is to be enlarged from a present capacity of 210 second-feet to an enlarged capacity capaci-ty of 1000 second-feet. Work on this phase of the project is expected ex-pected to be commenced within a lew months. It is anticipated that the work on the Provo reservoir canal will get under way within a few months also. This canal is the highest and largest of the constructed con-structed canals carrying water northward from the Provo river. It is planned to enlarge the canal to. a capacity of 550 second-feet fiom the mouth of Provo canyon to the Jordan Narrows, a distance of 23 miles, in order to deliver supplemental water to 40,000 acres in the Utah valley and a portion of Salt Lake valley. Aqueduct Progressing The Salt Lake aqueduct is being constructed to convey water from the Deer Creek reservoir to a point near Salt Lake City for use of subscribers not having canal facilities available. The aqueduct will, when finished, consist of a covered conduit approximately 40 miles in length and with a capacity ca-pacity of about 150 second-feet. The Olmsted tunnel at the mouth of Provo canyon, first phase of the aqueduct undertaken, was completed November 13, 1939 and is approximately 3600 feet long. The Alpine-Draper tunnel, about 15,000 feet long, was holecl through in December. Concrete lining of the tunnel is expected to be finished before September by the G. K. Thompson and company, com-pany, contractors. Both tunnel3 have a 6',i-foot diameter concrete-lined concrete-lined horseshoe-shaped sections. More than half the concrete pipe section of the aqueduct unit running run-ning from Olmsted tunnel outlet to American Fork Creek has been completed and most of the structures struc-tures are finished. About 25,000 feet of 69-inch inside diameter pipe had been laid at the end of the year. Contractor for this phase of the project is the Utah Concrete Pipe company. The Utah lake division of the Provo River project contemplates the diking of Utah lake to reduce the area to 63,000 acres and thus effect a reduction in evaporation losses which in the past have amounted, to 326,000 acre-feet annually. an-nually. The Utah Lake Water Users' association was formed in 1935 and a draft of a repayment contract formulated thereafter. However, no further progress has been made toward perfecting the organization, nor have any fund3 been made available for the construction con-struction of this division. Total estimated cost of the ultimate ulti-mate Provo River project is $15,-774,000 $15,-774,000 divided as follows: Deer Creek division, 517,600,000; Utah lake division, $2,374,000; aqueduct division, $5,800,000. . |